Tag: Cayuga Outrigger

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Finger Lakes International Dragon Boat Festival

Cayuga Outrigger's Community Team

July 10th found the Cayuga Outrigger Canoe Club participating in the Finger Lakes International Dragon Boat Festival in beautiful Ithaca, New York.  We had fifteen club members in attendance and a cowgirl from Montana as our drummer as we set out to compete in a boat few of us had paddled in the past.  We competed in the Community Division against five teams including Tompkins County, Cornell Cooperative Extension and the Glimmerglass Dragons from Hartwick, NY.

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Our race day started with a 250 meter time trial that we won with seconds to spare.  This was followed up by a second heat which we again finished out in front of the pack but were penalized for finishing in another lane.

As we waited for our final race some of the men from COCC were racing with the Ithaca Gorges Men sponsored by the Ithaca Dragon Boat Club.  Although we struggled to come together as a team in the early rounds we were in contention for a medal as the last race was held.  Some disqualifications in the final race had the men seemingly in position for at least a bronze medal but some questionable officiating found us in a 2 team race for third.  Although the Gorges Men gave it their all, the race was decided by less than a boat length which sent us home with a fourth place finish.

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Finally the BIG RACE!  COCC was set at the starting line with lane buoys shifting and our steersman nervous to stay in our lane.  As we were given the start call we paddled as hard as possible and quickly surged into the lead.  As we crossed the finish line we were happy to see that not only had we finished in first place but we had also stayed in our lane.  The gold medal was ours!

Cayuga Outrigger in motion!!!

Mahalo to all of the Cayuga Outrigger members who paddled on Saturday and a extra special mahalo to our captain Paul C., “C is for Cookie” for putting it together and remaining such a positive force on a very long day.

See more photos here!

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Success at our Open House

The day started with some questionable weather but as long as we don’t have lightening the Cayuga Outrigger Canoe Club is in action and so it was today.  Club members arrived early and prepared to welcome interested people and future members to try the awesome sport of outrigger canoeing.  Julie and Cynthia planned this event and the results were tremendous.  We had Gimme! Coffee, Ithaca Bakery as well as fruit, P.O.G. and other tasty treats.

Open HouseWelcome Tents

As the first of our new paddlers arrived the good weather did as well.  The wind subsided and the sun and blue skies greeted us so we were soon paddling on beautiful Cayuga Lake.  We were fortunate enough get our new paddlers on the water and they quickly saw why this sport is so great.

Ready to goWaiting to Launch

Everybody ready?On the Water

We were able to get 6 new paddlers on the water before a cold front moved into the area and the temperatures started to drop and the wind gusted to 30 mph.  We quickly lowered the welcome tents and pulled the wa’a from the water.

Radar MapRadar the Open House

However we continued to get interested paddlers who wanted to paddle but settled for some good food and great conversation.  The keikis however took advantage of some of the largest waves we will see on Cayuga Lake while the adults planned for future adventures.

The waves keep getting bigger

Keikis Lovin’ the Waves

The end of the day

If you attend our Open House or planned to and couldn’t make it down feel free to stop by during one of our regular practice times.  We paddle Tuesday and Fridays from 6 to 8pm and Sundays from 9 to 11 am.  Thanks again to everyone who showed up especially our club members for making this such a successful event.



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Want Compost?

Spring is in the air and the time for gardening will soon be upon us so we ask you…..

Compost Earth

We are delivering top grade compost in the Ithaca area as a fundraiser that will allow us to purchase a new boat and expand our club.

You can purchase a cubic yard for $70 or 2 cubic yards for $130 and it will be delivered directly to your desired location.  We are asking for prepayment in the form of a check  that will not be deposited until your compost is delivered on May 1st.  We will contact you as the delivery date approaches to notify you of an expected delivery time.  If convenient an email address would also be helpful to make these arrangements easier.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at compostsale@cayugaoutrigger.com, or you may call Paul at 607-379-0748.
Thank you so much!  Looking forward to a great day of shoveling compost!!
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First Outrigger Race of the Season!

The outrigger season is quickly approaching with much to do before our first race.   June 19th is the date for the Washington Monumental and here is some information from the 2009 race:

I will take care of planning this race so if interested contact me at paul@cayugaoutrigger.com.  We will need 6 or 12 people to attend the race and based on interest we will decide what category we best fit into in D.C.  Everyone is invited so even if you don’t care to race please feel free to come and enjoy the “Aloha Spirit!”

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Race Schedule for ECORA has been set…. mostly

January 9th found P.J., Julie and me at the Kent Island Yacht Club for the annual meeting of ECORA (East Coast Outrigger Racing Association) at the Kent Island Yacht Club in Maryland.  This was P.J.’s second meeting and Julie and I were there to learn as much as we could about the past and future of East Coast outrigger canoe.

On our club’s last visit we competed in the Kent Island Cup but the cold temperatures and ice in the Chesapeake made us think twice about asking to go paddling.  This time awards were handed out to the best paddlers in OC-1’s and OC-6’s  and left us wanting to get in shape for the upcoming season.  There was some discussion of where stand up paddling (SUP) fits in ECORA’s plans for the future but no one will be doing the KIC again anytime soon.

Talk then turned to the race calendar which turns out to be extremely full.  The season starts with an OC-1 race June 5th in Kent Island,  with the Washington Monumental being our first chance to paddle the OC-6 in a competition.  Some possible changes to races include the Toronto Harbor Challenge, which is currently not a definite and may be cancelled on July 10th, as well as the Liberty World Outrigger Competition, which is currently awaiting a final date.  Liberty may become part of the much larger Mayor’s Cup, a paddling race around Manhattan, this year which has led to the delay in scheduling of this race.  Inclusion in this race will be great for outrigger as it will give us a larger audience that will be able to witness our sport.  Check out the club calendar for more race dates and start planning for races you may want to attend.

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Ithaca Journal: Laurel

From today’s Ithaca Journal (9/19/09):

Laurel: Raymond Craib of The Cayuga Outrigger Canoe Club would like to thank the following individuals and organizations for their support of our 39-mile lake paddle to raise money for our club and for youth paddling programs in Ithaca: Kiwanis Club of Ithaca-Cayuga for the wonderful luau at Stewart Park; Wade Wykstra for donating his time and providing the sweetest chase boat around and to everyone who sponsored us including Sparrow’s Fine Wines, Sheldrake Point Winery, Greenstar, Willcox Service Centers, Puddledockers Kayak Shop, Ludgate Produce Farms, EMS, Ithaca Beer, Power and Paddle, Tamara Loos, Sandra Crandall, Ray and Julia Craib, Meredith MacLeod, Cory Giroux, Jamel Perkins, Marion Boratynski, Nicholas and Barbara D’Alleva, Louise Buck, Karen Edgars, Pete Angre, Elizabeth Wolff-Nagel, Christa and Kyle Downey and Linde Gohn.

Raymond Craib

Ithaca

http://www.theithacajournal.com/article/20090919/VIEWPOINTS03/909190307/1129/OPINION

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Kent Island Cup

Kent Island GPS Track

The Cayuga Outrigger Canoe Club traveled to Kent Island, Maryland to take part in the Kent Island Cup on the Chesapeake Bay.  Arriving late Friday night the crew quickly set up tents and had a wonderful dinner at the Kent Island Yacht Club.

Almost time....

An early wake-up call had everyone paddle ready as the 35 mile race started about 7:30 am.  The race was broken into  4 sections with one crew doing the first and third legs while the other crew picked up the even legs.  Our crews had to drive from change out to change out hydrating and eating as we went.  Conditions were reasonable but both canoes battled surface waves and strong tidal currents.  We were all extremely hungry so the kaluha pork, mac salad and other delicious treats hit the spot at the luau.

Luau dinner

We all tried to stay up and celebrate our success but sleep was much to enticing to ignore but we did manage to see a beautiful KI sunset

Kent Island Sunset

The next morning found us all headed in different directions but a small group of use hit a local diner called Holly’s that will become a Kent Island tradition.  It also left us wondering……what is scrapple?

Holly's

Thanks to everyone who made this trip a success especially our crew of paddlers, P.J.,Paul C., Nina, Blair, Felix, Dave, Charlene, Julie, Mike, Iori and our friend from Boston Outrigger, Carol.  A special thanks goes out to the Kent Island Outrigger Canoe Club for allowing us to use their beautiful canoe.

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Video of the Cayuga Ho’e

The IthacanOnline (Ithaca College’s paper) made a pronunciation pun with their ‘Ho’e Down’ video of the Cayuga Ho’e (pronounced hoy, as in boy). We’ll give them a break – because they put together a great video of the Ho’e called ‘Ho’e Down’. Check it out: